characteristic

American  

[kar-ik-tuh-ris-tik] / ˌkær ɪk təˈrɪs tɪk /

adjective

1. Also characteristical. pertaining to, constituting, or indicating the character or peculiar quality of a person or thing; typical; distinctive.

   Red and gold are the characteristic colors of autumn.

   Synonyms:

   peculiar, special

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noun

• characteristics
  plural

1. a distinguishing feature or quality.

   Generosity is his chief characteristic.

   Synonyms:

   trait, property, attribute

2. Mathematics.

   1. the integral part of a common logarithm.

   2. the exponent of 10 in a number expressed in scientific notation.

   3. the smallest positive integer n such that each element of a given ring added to itself n times results in 0.

characteristic British  

/ ˌkærɪktəˈrɪstɪk /

noun

1. a distinguishing quality, attribute, or trait

2. maths

   1. the integral part of a common logarithm, indicating the order of magnitude of the associated number Compare mantissa

      the characteristic of 2.4771 is 2

   2. another name for exponent, used esp in number representation in computing

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adjective

1. indicative of a distinctive quality, etc; typical

characteristic Scientific  

/ kăr′ək-tə-rĭs′tĭk /

1. The part of a logarithm to the base 10 that is to the left of the decimal point. For example, if 2.749 is a logarithm, 2 is the characteristic.

2. Compare mantissa

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Synonym Usage

See feature.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• noncharacteristic
  adjective
• quasi-characteristic
  adjective
• uncharacteristic
  adjective
• characteristically
  adverb
• noncharacteristically
  adverb
• quasi-characteristically
  adverb
• uncharacteristically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• characteristics
  plural

Etymology

Origin of characteristic

First recorded in 1655–65; from Greek charaktēristikós ( see character, -istic)

Explanation

If something is a characteristic of someone or something, it is a feature you would expect. A characteristic of classical-style architecture is large stone columns. A characteristic of poodles is their pom-pom like tails. A characteristic feature needn't just be a something physically apparent, it can describe a type of personality or atmosphere as well, as in: "The characteristic of all funeral homes is their gloomy air." As their spelling and meaning implies, there is a close link between the words characteristic and character, meaning the essential nature of a thing, and in fact both words come from the ancient Greek kharackter, meaning a "symbol or imprint on the soul."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

characteristic characteristics

That regeneration power, said Ramzy Mardini, the founder of Geopol Labs, a Middle East-based geopolitical risk advisory firm, is the central and most important characteristic of the axis.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

Scientists do not currently agree on exactly what belongs in that category, a problem Kennedy summarized with characteristic bluntness: “If you can’t define a problem, you can’t solve it.”

From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026

This is probably the most important characteristic of a refresher.

From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026

The performance will touch on the comedian’s experience moving to Ireland, the challenges of cultural differences and her relationship with her nonbinary child, all filtered through her characteristic humor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

It is a characteristic of this kind of technology that it costs an enormous amount of money and requires a continuing expansion of hospital facilities.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

But Schlittler was tall, standing a 6-foot-6, and he had other physical and mechanical characteristics that led the Yankees to believe he could throw harder.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

The Equality and Human Rights Commission, the UK's regulator, says legislation is "likely to have particular impacts on people with certain protected characteristics, especially older and disabled people, external".

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

Both characteristics are important if the material is eventually to be considered for practical medical applications.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026

Decisions, including whether an item is potentially counterfeit, are made by trained specialists based on objective criteria and specific brand or product characteristics, such as stitching, logos and materials used in the design.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

But this would still be unable to explain why all finches in a single island did not gradually collapse to have identical characteristics.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Related Words

• aspect
• attribute
• component
• essence
• flavor
• nature
• peculiarity
• personality
• quality
• style
• symptom
• temperament
• tendency
• tone
• virtue